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Real Human Bones - would you buy them?

5.3K views 30 replies 24 participants last post by  ooojen  
#1 ·
So, My local auction house has put this in the next sale:

HUMAN BONES. Pine box of human bones




So, my question is simple, knowing they are real human bones, would you buy them, or does it creep you out a little too much?

Estimate: 30 GBP - 50 GBP +23% commision
 
#5 ·
No, I wouldn't, but that's not really my thing anyway, so it's an easy decision. If I did like to collect things like that, I would probably only purchase an item like human bones if I knew they had some kind of provenance that I agreed with. Like, if a medical school was selling them maybe, or if I knew someone had donated their body to science.

I don't think it stems from superstition as much as for me, it's out of respect - I don't plan to be buried, but if I did, I wouldn't like someone one day selling my bones because years ago some grave robber dug me up or something. I guess people are dead & therefore don't care :eek:, but I still care that it used to be a person who maybe wouldn't want to sit on my shelf to be ogled at.

Eh, we're all different. I can understand that people have a fascination or interest in bones, either scientifically, spiritually, or otherwise, but for me, an easy answer of "No, not interested".
 
#6 ·
That's an interesting question!
For me, Halloween is about fantasy and creativity. I'm not in the least creeped out by real human bones, but I would prefer realistic fakes. The real thing is still-- dark, I guess, and so loses a bit of the fun element imo. I realize my take isn't entirely consistent, but I like the concept of it all being illusion. I'd also rather have a realistic-looking thing in a lab jar than have an actual dead animal in a jar. I've had plenty of Zoology and anatomy classes that used dead animals (and some with human or human parts. I'm not squeamish. But that's scientific, rather than fantasy.
Now I just discussed it with DD, and she asked me what about my (real) cow bones. She had me there. I like my cow bones...I know they were the result of natural causes death--- so maybe it is the thought of not knowing the provenance after all. Back to it just being a level of dark that's more than I want.
 
#7 ·
I would definitely buy them for the right price. I have a collection of skulls and bones and I one day want to own a genuine human skull. Currently the only human bone in my collection is a vertebrae.

It's not for everyone but I enjoy osteology and bones are great for drawing exercises. And of course, they always work well with my Halloween decor. :)

And side note... all of my bones were of ethically obtained . Most from a zoologist, finding bones while hiking, or medical schools. Like others I'm not big on not knowing the history.. especially when it comes to human bones.
 
#24 ·
Like others I'm not big on not knowing the history.. especially when it comes to human bones.
No crack upside the head and an acid bath afterward, eh?:D


It seems most reasonable to agree to disagree regarding the obtainment of real human bones. Yes, some of us are of a far darker mindset and are fascinated by what many would consider disgusting/immoral (this included), but no one really has the right to judge anyone else for not thinking/acting/believing the same - not saying that anyone has been extraordinarily preachy, although I could certainly see this thread going that way.
 
#11 ·
Your state law might say "No" to your ownership of human bones.
A few years ago the City got a load of fill dirt from a local farm. It was full of cow and maybe horse bones from many years ago. I had a place for them, but then they seemed to vanish.. gradually?
Coyotes?
I met a man at an auction. He told me how he had gotten the "bid" that got him everything in the second floor of a building in a tiny town somewhere in Iowa, but he was supposed to clean out everything.
What he wanted were the fancy old chairs that had belonged to the Lodge, he didn't want the 50-some coffins with glass windows so the former men's club members could take a look at the modern world someday!
He grabbed the chairs and drove away.
Yes, the skeletons of the lodge members went with their coffins, but not that afternoon!
 
#17 ·
I used to work in a teaching hospital in X-ray so we had what most would consider a lot of human bones. One of our doctors would do the ordering for campus wide need. She told me 99% of the skeletons come from India. She said the country is so poor that the families are willing to sell their family members in order to have money for the rest of the family to live on. We used to have a skeleton from a baby in the library. I used to look at it and wonder about the family of this child. In one way I didn't like that circumstances that put these skeletons in our school. But I'm sure the family really needed the money and it probably brought food to them. I've read some have to sell their children into servitude for as little as $20. So selling a skeleton would be better.

So would I take human bones. I know I would sit and stare at them wondering their life story, so no. Do I think others should? It's their choice, that is if it's legal in their state. I know they can't be sold on e-bay.
 
#23 ·
Well put, Scareme. I typed up similar thoughts and then didn't post them.
Waay back when... someone asked the prof. about the origin of the skeletons in our anatomy class. They were mostly small of stature, with bone issues and bad teeth. He said they came from India, from people who died nameless in the streets, or whose families couldn't afford to have them cremated and disposed of with dignity. So when I said real bones were too *dark* that's a big part of what I meant, too. I couldn't look at them without feeling sadness. I'd rather invest in some ethically-produced clothing or something, and keep my decor bones -- fun.
 
#26 ·
I have a human skull that my grandfather got from medical school. I've thought of using it at Halloween but never have. Somehow it just doesn't feel right even though it didn't stop my brother and I from setting it up in our bedroom with glass eyes to look at the door. My sisters would NEVER come into our room because of it.
I don't think I would buy the bones.
 
#27 ·
Nope. It's not about creeps, it's about what the ex-person(s) would think about his/her/their remains ending up in a box at a sort of garage sale. My loved ones could give my bones (after I'm dead, I hope) to their dogs for treats if they wanted, but I wouldn't feel comfortable making decisions about a stranger's bones, not knowing for certain about his/her/their last wishes.

That is, obviously, my answer based on my own feelings. If others feel differently, I won't be clutching pearls and bawling about who's thinking of the children.
 
#28 ·
Now to twist this, if a HF member "donated" their cleaned bones to be used in a Halloween display, it sounds like there would be some takers here on the Forum.
Which part of the forum would be proper to post "members remains available, local pickup only????
Maybe after Halloween, they get repacked and sent to the next yard haunt, for the following year.
I may have to have my will amended!!
 
#30 ·
OK, so my nominal joke bid of ÂŁ15 won. So I am now in a dilemma. I do not want the bones. I made the bid because I thought the box was cool, and I think that having a box that used to contain real human bones is creepy enough. So, I have emailed a few websites here in the UK to see if I can sell the bones on. I understand that they are worth much more than the ÂŁ20 (inc commission) I will pay, so if I do manage to sell them on will be making a sizable charity donation from the sale proceeds. I will also contact a couple of medical institutions to see if they are interested for research purposes. If not, then I will be contacting my Priest and making arrangements for the bones to have a proper resting place.